PHRs Help Patients Manage Their Health

AUGUST 01, 2008

Eileen Koutnik-Fotopoulos, Staff Writer

Personal health records (PHRs)
are touted as a new technology
convenience for patients. Yet,
the use of electronic PHRs remains
low, according to the May 2008 Markle
Foundation survey. The report indicated
that only 2.7% (representing about
6.1 million adults) have an electronic
PHR. A majority (57.3%) do not keep
any form of PHRs. The good news is
that 46.5% (about 106 million individuals)
said they would be interested in
using an online PHR service.

Palm City, Florida?based Connectyx
Technologies Holdings Group Inc is hoping
to bridge the gap with its confidential
and easy-to-use flash drive that
allows patients to manage their own
health information electronically. Called
MedFlash, the device stores personal
health information on a 2-in portable
flash drive with access through
the Internet to register and maintain all
details of a PHR. The device retails for
$34.95 and requires a yearly $12.95 subscription
fee.

"We are on the cutting edge of health
care technology, and we want to provide
consumers a very manageable and affordable
way to handle their personal health
record," said Ronn Schuman, president
and chief executive officer for the company.
"It [MedFlash] allows users to easily
keep their history, medication records,
treatments, and lifestyle routines up-todate
on a device that they can carry with
them."

In June 2007, the company acquired
the assets of MedFlash LLC. The owner
of the Oklahoma City company developed
MedFlash for his wife who was
diabetic. Schuman described the original
product as a very simple program
to store health information. A year later
Connectyx deployed a completely new
product. The goal is to develop a 3-tier
approach. Tier 1 is the currently available
portable flash drive containing health
information that individuals can carry
with them. Tier 2 is the ability to access
the information via the MedFlash Web
site (www.mymedflash.com). The company
is planning for access capabilities
from cell phones and personal digital
assistants. The final tier, which will be
available later this year, will allow users
to call a toll-ree number 24 hours a day,
to access their health information. This
tier requires no Internet or flash drive as
all members are given an indentification
(ID) card with an emergency ID access
number.

The Web-based portal not only gives
individuals the ability to keep their medical
history, but gives them the ability to
download magnetic resonance imaging,
x-rays, and a host of other medical
and lifestyle information. Schuman said
MedFlash can help save lives and recommends
the product for "all walks of
life," including individuals traveling on
vacation or for work, expectant mothers,
and attaching it to a child's car seat.
For individuals who are not computer
savvy, a relative or caregiver can update
MedFlash. The company also has a tollfree
number to call for questions from
8:30 am to 5:30 pm Monday through
Friday and 24-hour online support.

Privacy is an important component of
MedFlash. Users have the option to block
individuals from seeing information. If
accessing MedFlash via the Web site, an
image of a lock is located next to each field
where data is entered, with the option to
lock or unlock the information. If accessing
the information using a USB port, there is a
"Make Private" check box on each screen
that can be clicked to keep private. The
company recommends with both options
that if any medical or lifestyle information is
important for an emergency responder to
know,
that the information
remain
unlocked.

In the event
of an emergency,
first responders and
hospitals can access
the PHR by plugging
MedFlash
into a USB port and
clicking on the text file "MyMedData.txt." They can use any text editor or any
word processor
to access the file and
review a patient's
health record. If the
data are being accessed by the Web
site, individuals should fill out the card
that comes with their MedFlash. The
card directs health care providers to
visit www.Med-Flash.com to find critical
information and click on "Emergency
Patient Access" and enter the patient's
emergency ID code.

The niche product recently became
available at Kroger Co locations in
Columbus and Cincinnati, Ohio, and
northern Kentucky. The product is
available at pharmacy counters and
is the first electronic PHR device the
Cincinnati-based supermarket operator
offers, according to spokeswoman
Rachel Betzler. MedFlash also will soon
be available at select Fred Meyer stores,
a division of Kroger Co.

As a commercially available PHR,
MedFlash will be part of a PHR study
conducted by Brigham and Women's
Hospital and Harvard Medical School.
"We were recently contacted by a
research team that is reviewing the
features and benefits of commercially
available PHRs," said Schuman. Adam
Wright, one of the researchers leading
the study, said, "Our goal is to learn what
features devices on the market have and
how they work."